The new, stricter European Union (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) goes Into effect in two weeks on May 18, 2017 as Germany, for example, rewrites its own new Federal Data Protection Act as a result.
See for example the reports at Out-Law.com at
New German data protection laws passed by Bundestag as part of GDPR preparations, as business organizations e.g. will in the future be required to appoint a "data protection officer".